I made this recipe following the show transcript and the wonderful above description, and it turned out great. I couldn't taste any actual heat from the pepper, but it did seem to have "something" that would have been missing had I omitted it.

To the above poster who's angry with Alton: Perhaps you shouldn't be so quick to blame the recipe when things don't turn out correctly?

WOW!!! OMG! I did it. Im in college and saw the show and wanted to try it. I had all the ingredients in my house. The only thing i didn't have was the cool cooking utensils, but i had my imagination and determination. AND IT WORKED!!! I didn't use the fancy plastic baking sheet. I used aluminum foil and smothered it in vegy oil, and i didn't have a silicone spatula but i had a metal spoon. And i did it....of course i over cooked the sugar the first time but 15 minutes after i dumped the bad batch in the back of my apartment, I had the real thing beautifully cooling in front of me. I feel awesome!!!
Good luck to all those beginners out there. You can do it!!

The very easiest way to avoid the spattered side issue is to spray the coking vessel with pan spray before you begin the process...it doesn't change the outcome.

Seems to me to cover the pan is to add water to the mixture and therefore increase the cooking time you have to boil away the water to begin with.

If you don't have silicon tools, just spray the spoon or spatula you do have with pan spray before you spread out your brittle...you may want to have a couple ready to go because it will begin to stick to the first one.

this is very similar to what we call Chikki ...a sweet treat in western india...readily available in Bombay/Mumbai...and also in indian stores here in the US...u can use jaggery...other kinds of sugar...or even some honey to mix in the syrup...for the nuts u can use cashews, almonds, seasme seeds instead or in combination with peanuts...u could try experimenting with different layers of thickness...and even try a mould that would make it look more like a hersheys bar...easier to break off without creating too many crumbles

LOVE this site! Just wanted to share that Mark Bittman in his Minimalist Gourmet column at New York Times website has a video where he makes peanut brittle. It was so devastatingly simple that I was inspired to try it even though I'd never made any kind of candy before. And it came out PERFECT! He just put sugar in a pan and heated it slowly till it melted (I used his "cheat" tip of adding a couple TBS water) and reached the desired color, then stirred in an equal amount of salted peanuts and poured it out on an ungreased cookie sheet to cool. I was amazed that this was so easy...which inspired me to make his caramel walnut tart for Thanksgiving (he has a video for this too) which was equally simple and really delicious. I'm planning to make your english toffee recipe next (for Christmas). I've discovered a whole new world of sweet treats! Thanks again for this wonderful site.

This is unrelated to the peanut brittle discussion, but I think there's a typo in the second paragraph:

"Raw, blanched, or roasted all all good in brittle."

On a candy-related note, while I've been tempted by AB's recipe, I will probably try Bittman's instead. Since it doesn't take a lot of time and effort I'll be less disappointed if [when?] it fails / I mess up.

Has anyone made peanut brittle using a combination of erythritol and Splenda? I have been successful one time without it crystallizing, but not since then. Erythritol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol (found in pears) that will brown nicely at higher temperatures, hence offering an option for folks who must severely limit their sugar intake. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I used Spicy Red Chile Powder that I purchased at a local Indian/Pakistani grocery store instead of the cayene pepper. It adds more flavor instead of just heat. It also opens up the cinamon and carmel flavor. As the brittle cools sprinkle coarse kosher salt evenly across. This is substituted for salting the peanuts. Salt is key with sweet items, think of pretzels and ice cream, It intensifies sweets. If you haven't visited one of these Indian grocery stores you should def put it on the list. You can find great spices for REALLY CHEAP! The quality of the spices is also very high compared to common supermarket brands like McCormics or Spice Islands.

I have been making peanut brittle now for holiday gifts. Did two batches today, and 1 last week. I have a great recipe (I've tried a few others, some that looked more similar to Alton's). It does use baking soda, but the result is a non-clear candy coating with lots of intrinsic peanut flavor as the nuts are mixed with the candy as it heats. First time I tried it (without seeing the recipe), I thought that peanut butter was somehow incorporated. This recipe is also pretty easy because of the water and corn syrup added that make it slower to carmelize at first (the sugar doesn't get super hot without first evaporating the water). Never had an issue with crystallization. I'm sure spices could easily be added either when adding the butter & peanuts, or at the end, instead of the vanilla.

Here it is:
Set aside in a small bowl:
1.5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp water
1 tsp. vanilla
Set aside in another bowl:
1 lb. peanuts (I use roasted, salted, blanched)
3 tbsp. butter
Heat in a large, tall saucepan:
1 c. water
1 c. light corn syrup
1.5 c. sugar
Cook sugar, water, & corn syrup until temp reaches 140 F. on candy thermometer. The rapid bowl will have slowed a bit at this point. Hint of caramel color beginning.
Add peanuts and butter, and stir vigorously & continuously so it does not burn. Heat until temp reaches 300 F. I wear oven mitts to prevent bubbling sugar burns. Candy mixture will be foamy. When approaching temperature, color will be a medium light caramel. The mixture will look sticky, slightly stringy, and start to pull away from sides of the pot near the top of the mixture.
Take off heat, add soda/water/vanilla. Stir very vigorously, & be careful of it foaming. Spread in large buttered metal baking pan (no parchment/wax/silpat needed). Spread as thin as possible, about 1/4 inch.
Let cool until center of pan is no longer warm. To get out of pan, slightly flex metal pan, and candy will pop free.
Delicious.